Laundry Love

Great book. The information works!

Laundry is a fact of life - let’s face it. But whereas, (for me at least), that satisfying sniff of freshly washed laundry is usually preceded by a lot of: “I wonder if I’m doing this right?” ruminating, this book gives a lot of insight into just HOW to do it right. And also: Why it’s better to actually wash clothes, including cashmere, other types of wool, and silks (that one I actually already knew! ;), than it is to take them to the dry cleaner, which is, he says, expensive, time consuming, toxic, and very hard on fabrics. And speaking of toxic, he gives all the reasons, and all the recipes for making your own non-toxic, gentle, and effective laundry detergent that’s better for you, your clothes, and the planet we live on. As an aside, I personally have never been a militant environmentalist for reasons of convenience, (selfish, I know), but in this book he gives you plenty of reasons to get on board. One of them being that you can easily scent your own (beautifully washed) clothes and bed linens just by putting a few drops of essential oils on wool dryer balls instead of using fabric softener. I haven’t used fabric softener for years since I read long ago about how it ruins your clothes AND your machines, and I’d already been using wool dryer balls for years with good results, but I hadn’t thought to personalize my laundry scent in that way, so THAT was a great tip! …And it’s just one of the many sort of life-changing how-tos that makes this book a kind of laundry bible for all of the formally semi-clueless bumblers like myself. And one that can actually turn a dreaded chore into a pleasant and satisfying part of life. I feel like “Laundry Love” might be to laundry in the 21st century what “The Joy Of Cooking” was to cooking in the 20th century. Revolutionary.

This is a beautifully written, joyful, inspiring book about my favorite subject - laundry. Patric Richardson's expertise and effervescent personality illuminates every page. Laundry Love distills his formal education in textiles, years of experience in fashion, and passion for clothing and cleanliness into a book that is just the right length. His methods are practical and he describes them concisely, with enough explanation of the science to be enlightening and helpful, but not so much that one gets bogged down in details. If something seems counterintuitive, he explains the reasoning behind it and makes it make perfect sense. Some fascinating history of laundry is included and even a little bit of poetry, which was a delightful surprise. I was a bit concerned before I read a book by an actual "laundry evangelist" that I would need to purchase a bunch of expensive tools and exotic potions in fancy bottles and spend additional hours doing laundry to follow his guidance, but that is not the case at all - using his methods will actually require far fewer products, all of them less expensive than what I'm currently using, and will take significantly less time. This book is so uplifting, informative, and enjoyable that I would recommend it to anyone, even someone who has no intention of ever doing any laundry. It's just that good.

Pretty good book. An enjoyable, light read with laundry know-how and stories to go along with it. There are some parts that feel like filler. The back page lists Kain B. Miller as the "Coauthor", though we don't hear anything from her; it is written in the first-person of the topline author's voice (Richardson). The cover lists Miller as "with". She seems a named ghostwriter, but they made nice book.

About 6 months ago, the author did an interview that was so damned good I cut it out of WAPO, and stuck it on top of my washer for future reference. And now we have his book. You need this book. Laundry defeats me. I have better things to do. But laundry we all must do. This will save you time, money, fashion and heartbreak. The author knows how to fix stains. You can do it at home, and his solutions will work. Plus, it's a lovely story of a young boy growning up with strong Southern women. With cheese ball recipes. Do not miss this book. And if the author has any ideas about how to fix indigo on a 50 year old dead stock yukata, I'd be all ears.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. Solves almost every conundrum of stain removal, recommended washing techniques for success, everything can be washed if done properly. I have the given a Hard Cover a gift to all of my “Fashionista” friends. Totally worth it if you care about clothes , the environment and using less chemicals. Patric’s life is fascinating and a fun quick read as part if this book. I put tabs on my most referenced pages and have a kindle version as well.

How to do laundry efficiently and at lower cost than the normal methods

This book offers great insights into laundry. Especially about what works for getting your laundry clean, not using the high priced stuff they are selling you in TV commercials (which is actually worse for your clothing). There is a section on stain removal. You can find what type of stain you need to remove and this will tell you the best way to remove the stain using common household items like vodka or white vinegar. This is a great present for any household.

Bought this on a whim as I love their idea of taking better care of the clothes we have than always buying more. This book does not disappoint at all. Handy tips and insights and you can tell there is a lot of love and care in there. Even down to the family recipes! I also own a small ethical and sustainable cashmere business and the information here will help me better inform my customers. I’ll be telling my friends in Australia! Thank you Patric.

Considering how much time we spend in our lives doing laundry, I find this book very helpful. It changed the way I do my laundry and now I find that I can wash pretty much everything from cashmere sweaters to silk at home. I no longer need to dry clean and I learned to remove almost every stain I've come across so far.

Everything I ever wanted to know about stains, laundry, and the hacks to go with them! Very informative 📖 book! Only disappointment is that the author should have included colour illustrations! The black and white ones don’t stand it!

Fun read with stories and the solutions for laundry work.

Great advice - would highly recommend it for cleaning every stain.